Moldovan defence minister meets Italian, Turkish counterparts in Warsaw

Chisinau, July 10 /MOLDPRES/ – Defence Minister Anatol Salaru on 9 July met his Italian counterpart Roberta Pinotti at the NATO Summit in Warsaw. 

The officials discussed the  bilateral cooperation in the military sector. Thus, the minister emphasized the support provided by the Italian army to the contingent of Moldovan peacekeepers deployed in the Kosovo Force (KFOR) peacekeeping operation in Kosovo,the defence ministry’s public relations service has said. 

For her part, Roberta Pinotti highlighted the willingness of the Italian battalion in Kosovo to further support the National Army in the carrying out of its tasks within KFOR. 

At the same time, Pinotti said that Italy opted for increasing the number of servicemen within the Moldovan KFOR contingent. 

Minister Salaru also had a meeting with Minister of Defence of Turkey Fikri Işık in Warsaw.  

The Moldovan minister expressed condolences to the Turkish official on the terrorist attacks which recently occurred  at Istanbul Ataturk Airport and advocated stepping up measures that would stop this radical phenomenon.

The Moldovan minister praised the educational offer from the Government of Turkey at the Training Center for Peacekeeping operations in Ankara and for training opportunities for cadets of the National Army at the   Military Academy of Land Forces. The Moldovan minister said that to date, 138 military of the National Army had studied in the education institutions from Turkey, and one serviceman graduated from the Turkish Military Academy. 

For his part, the Turkish Defence Minister noted the importance of the Warsaw NATO Summit, in the context of the current situation in the region. 

The official encouraged reforms implemented by the Ministry of Defence of Moldova and reiterated his country's willingness to continue an effective military partnership. 

(Editor M. Jantovan)